mrjonno wrote:Whatever the problems with being a MP and to be fair there are some they are far far worse jobs out there, both in pay/conditions and family life. The military would be a good example, how often does a serving soldier even get too see their family a week every 3 months ?

Calilasseia wrote:So, basically, anyone who whinges about the hardships of being an MP, on ninety grand a year with £35K rent expenses paid for by someone else, needs to get a fucking life.

There were also signs of the difficult political balance Lord Hill will have to maintain in Brussels.

He described himself as a "consensual, pragmatic, European politician" - not a phrase destined to win him many supporters on the Tory backbenches in London.

He promised to work in the general interest of all 28 EU countries, but many MEPs still see him as David Cameron's man.

ED209 wrote:"Choose tax cuts for the wealthy paid for by further slashing the services and benefits needed by the poorest in the country"

Negative tweets on Cameron’s speech outweigh positive by 10 to one

Reaction on Twitter to speech at Tory party conference worse than response to Ed Miliband, finds thinktank

David Cameron’s speech received 10 negative posts for every positive one on Twitter, analysis by a thinktank has revealed.

Social media experts at Demos said the prime minister fared less well than Ed Miliband, whose offering to the Labour conference last week received only four negative comments for every positive tweet.

Further analysis found the majority of the negative tweets on the PM’s speech were more of an anti-Tory backlash rather than aimed at Cameron directly, criticising the policies being announced and remarking on the current impact of the cuts...

Among those voicing their opinions were 1,748 publicly stated Labour supporters, 2,457 publicly stated Conservative supporters, 2,426 members of the press and media, as well as 20,221 unaffiliated members of the public.

There is a powerful political logic to David Cameron's announcement of tax cuts that will - the Tories believe - cut the tax bill of basic rate taxpayers by £500 a year by 2020 and the bill of those earning between £50,000 and £100,000 a year by a more handsome £1,313 a year.

He wants to deliver a powerful financial incentive for those on middle to high incomes to ignore the siren call of UKIP and vote Tory.

And it is striking that the prime minister even adopted some of last Friday's rhetoric of UKIP's leader, Nigel Farage, when pointing out that on Tory plans to lift the tax-free personal allowance to £12,500, no one on the minimum wage working up to 30 hours a week would pay a penny of income tax.

But is there economic - and social (dare I ask?) - logic?
Is Cameron more Thatcher than Thatcher?

Calilasseia wrote:They know that UKIP is going to appeal far more to their base than to that of Labour...

Exclusive: Ukip surge is costing Labour as many votes as Tories, research suggests

Ed Miliband has been warned that Labour’s declining support among working class voters, many of whom are defecting to Ukip, poses the biggest threat to his party’s prospects of winning next year’s general election.

A study by the Labour-affiliated Fabian Society found that a gradual drop in support among blue-collar workers since 2005 has now been exacerbated by the rise of Nigel Farage’s party, putting Labour’s general election strategy in jeopardy.

Its research found that Labour’s lead in nine parliamentary seats would be lost if the results of last month’s council elections were repeated next year. Six seats would go to Ukip and three to the Tories, who would overtake Labour as Ukip eats into its support. The Fabians fear this “Ukip effect” could deny Labour victory in dozens of the crucial Lab-Con marginals that will decide the election.

The analysis, seen by The Independent, says Labour’s view that Ukip was a “Tory problem” has been “blasted” by last month’s Euro and council elections, and that it is hurting Labour and the Tories almost equally. Although the Fabians believe Mr Miliband can still win next year’s election, they warn that he will do so only by winning back the blue-collar workers.

mattthomas wrote:Unfortunately the media in the UK doesn't seem to want to help the populace with information that may just counter this. Radio 4, up until recently a radio favourite of mine alongside Classic.FM; they give air time constantly to euro-skeptics and UKIP morons who spout such bollocks. They are never challenged, they are never corrected, just aired. Why does the BBC not give the public any form of facts about the EU, about immigration etc.

A Conservative minister has apologised for sharing a poem on Twitter which suggested the Labour Party was "full of queers".

Business Minister Matthew Hancock said his retweet had been an "accident" and described the comment as "offensive".

The MP for Suffolk West shared a few poems on his Twitter page to coincide with National Poetry Day on Thursday.

Labour MP Chris Bryant wrote on Twitter that the comment was "vile" and Mr Hancock should be sacked.

Mr Hancock did not write the comment, but it was contained in a limerick criticising the Labour Party, which he shared on his Twitter page.

Tories pledge powers to ignore European court of human rights rulings
Critics say manifesto risks unravelling 50 years of human rights law at a time when nations such as Russia fight ECHR decisions

Aca wrote:http://www.theguardian.com/politics/2014/oct/03/conservatives-ignore-european-court-human-rights-rulings

Tories pledge powers to ignore European court of human rights rulings
Critics say manifesto risks unravelling 50 years of human rights law at a time when nations such as Russia fight ECHR decisions